Day: October 26, 2021

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s independent advisory committee endorsed giving child-size emergency doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5-11.

While it is considered rare for younger children to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19, FDA vaccines chief Dr. Peter Marks told the panel Tuesday that 1.9 million children in the 5 to 11 age group have tested positive and 8,300 have been hospitalized in the United States. Of those hospitalized, one-third needed intensive care, and nearly 100 died.

With the approval of the vaccine for use in children, officials said they hoped it would help close a major gap in the U.S. vaccine campaign that had been worrying parents, educators and public health leaders.

Regulators said shots could begin as soon as next week.

Last week, the White House said it had already obtained enough vaccine for the 28 million children in the United States who would become eligible and established a network of pediatricians, pharmacies and other health care providers to quickly distribute the shots.

The FDA, which isn’t bound by the panel recommendation, will make its decision in the next few days.

Pending FDA approval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory committee is expected to consider the proposal next week.

In a related development, U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Moderna said a clinical trial showed that a low dose of its COVID-19 vaccine was safe for children ages 6 to 11.

The company said it inoculated more than 4,700 children with its two-dose vaccine about 28 days apart, with each shot about half the strength given to adults. Preliminary results show the antibody levels in the children were at same level as those seen in young adults who received a full dose.

Moderna says the children suffered mild side effects such as fatigue, headache, fever and pain at the injection site. The number of test subjects was too small to detect any rare side effects such as myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, which has been detected mostly among boys and young men who received either the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine.

The study has not been published by any peer-reviewed journal, but Moderna says it will soon present its findings to the FDA and other global drug regulators.

Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency is reporting that the African Union will purchase up to 110 million doses of the Moderna vaccine. The AU will receive 15 million doses before the end of the year, with another 35 million doses arriving in the first quarter of 2022 and up to 60 million in the second quarter.

The purchase was facilitated by the White House, which is deferring delivery of 33 million doses it had purchased from Moderna to give the AU an opportunity to negotiate with the company.

According to the report, in an email, AU coronavirus envoy Strive Masiyiwa said the deal allowed the alliance to increase the number of vaccines available immediately. He said, “We urge other vaccine producing countries to follow the lead of the (U.S. government) and give us similar access to buy this and other vaccines.”

The CDC has extended the coronavirus health rules for cruise ships until January 15, 2022. The current regulations, which were first imposed in March 2020 and include a requirement for ships to sail with at least 95% of passengers and crew fully vaccinated, were set to expire November 1.

The CDC says when the current regulations expire in January, it will shift to a voluntary program for cruise ship operators to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their vessels.

Source: Voice of America

Highlights

• Latest El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) updates indicate that La Niña conditions have re-emerged for the second consecutive year. As of October, ENSO forecasts expect these conditions to continue with 87% chance of La Niña in December 2021- February 2022.

• Taking into account oceanic and atmospheric factors and the La Niña occurrence, the bulk of the Southern Africa region is expected to experience above-average rainfall in the 2021/22 season. While this may portend well for overall regional crop production, close monitoring and preparedness is needed as some areas may experience high cyclonic activities, severe weather events and flooding similar to last year. Measures also need to be put in place to ensure the positive outlook can be maximized.

• Key areas of concern for normal to below normal rainfall throughout the October-November-December (OND) and January-February-March (JFM) periods are parts of western Angola and potentially western Namibia according to the regional SARCOF Seasonal Forecast.

• WFP VAM activities to prepare for the season include: 1) data preparedness (e.g. spatial data infrastructure for the 72 hour assessment approach), 2) high frequency monitoring of rainfall, tropical systems, seasonal progress and 3) partnerships for enhanced monitoring and disaster risk intelligence .

Source: World Food Programme

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has pulled out of the COP26 conference in Glasgow next week after she was advised by doctors to rest, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, in a blow to the United Nations climate summit.

A palace source said the decision to not attend had been taken as a “sensible precaution” and to let everyone know in advance. The queen remains in good spirits and wants COP26 to be a success, the source added.

“Following advice to rest, The Queen has been undertaking light duties at Windsor Castle,” Buckingham Palace said.

“Her Majesty has regretfully decided that she will no longer travel to Glasgow to attend the Evening Reception of COP26 on Monday, 1st November.”

The 95-year-old queen, the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, stayed overnight in hospital last Wednesday after undergoing “preliminary investigations” for an unspecified but not COVID-19 related ailment.

She carried out her first official engagement since the hospital stay earlier on Tuesday, holding two virtual audiences to welcome the new ambassadors to Britain from South Korea and Switzerland.

Elizabeth, who is queen of 15 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand and next year celebrates 70 years on the throne, is known for her robust health and still carrying out many public duties.

News of the cancellation is likely to raise concerns about her health. She was recently overheard saying she was irritated by world leaders who talk about climate change but do nothing to tackle it.

The queen had been due to attend an evening event next Monday at the conference where world leaders will meet including U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Britain has cast the United Nations COP26 climate conference which begins in Glasgow on Oct. 31 as the last big chance to slow rising temperatures, and hopes to persuade leaders to adopt tougher climate targets.

However Johnson said on Monday it was “touch and go” as to whether COP26 would succeed in securing the requirements needed to limit the rise in the average global temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The queen will deliver an address to the assembled delegates via a recorded message, the palace added. Elizabeth’s son and heir Prince Charles and his eldest son Prince William are still due to attend.

Source: Voice of America